16/10/17

Bermuda Premier Talks Taxes on BBC World News

(The Royal Gazette) -- David Burt fought Bermuda’s corner on tax in an interview on Britain’s BBC World News.

The Premier, also Minister of Finance, appeared on the channel’s Talking Business yesterday and emphasised that Bermuda complied with international tax standards.

Interviewer Aaron Heslehurst quizzed Mr Burt on the charity Oxfam’s claim last December that Bermuda was the worst corporate tax haven in the world.

But Mr Burt, who has spent the past week visiting officials in the UK and Europe, hit back that the island was a leader in tax compliance and transparency.

Mr Burt said: “Bermuda’s ratings from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development on transparency are equivalent to the United Kingdom and Germany and in many instances, in many international ratings, we are ahead of the United States.

“We believe we are a leader in this space, and we will continue to exert our leadership position to ensure that Bermuda is on the latest standards.”

Mr Burt also told Heslehurst: “I think that we certainly have a different taxation system — but different does not necessarily mean that it’s bad.”